Bag Making: New Wholecloth Bento Bag Sewing Pattern

The new 

Wholecloth Project Bag 

sewing pattern is now available in the shop! 

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I'm excited to introduce a pattern that is definitely a tried and true staple in my sewing room! The Wholecloth Bento Bag is a simple design and a very versatile project. The bag is made from a single rectangle of cloth that is folded and sewn into the bento shape. The corners of the opening tie to keep the contents secure. All of the seams are enclosed to make the inside just a lovely as the outside. The pattern includes 4 sizes of bag that you can print on your home printer and assemble. If you'd rather skip the printing you can draft your own with the dimension chart included in the instructions. You can make all 4 sizes in an afternoon with 1 1/2 yards (137cm) of fabric!

I've been making some variation of this bag for years. A bento is my very favorite way to keep my current knitting project in my purse without it getting all jumbled up with the gum wrappers and spare change languishing at the bottom of my bag. Based on the way my family uses our bento bags I've created 4 sizes for the bento pattern. The finished size small is 10in x 11in (25.5cm x 28cm) and just the thing for holding a few small toys in the car. The XL is 17 1/2in x 19in (44.5cm x 48cm) and easily holds a change of clothes for an after school playdate. I use the size large to hold clothespins for laundry day.  My daughter carries her ballet slippers and leotard to class in a size medium.

The interior finish of this design is especially polished. The entire bag is sewn on a standard sewing machine. The illustrated pattern instructions show you how to completely enclose the interior seams for a finish that will stand the test of time and use. 

My favorite fabric for a bento bag is linen because it's durable and wears beautifully.  The solids shown above are Robert Kaufman Essex Linen Blend in yarn dyed black and natural (affiliate). They have the characteristic slump of linen. The top of the stack above is a Maker Maker Lines (affiliate) print for Andover Fabrics. I love all of Sarah's prints, and the linen blend substrate is perfect for a project bag. I picked up the white/natural print (alternate color way) at Gather Here when I was in Boston last week. It is the same Essex Linen Blend substrate, but the ink of the print gives this bag a nice rigidity that keeps the flaps up when it's stuffed with yarn. Any lightweight woven fabric will work for this pattern. I've used a lot of light weight denim in the past, and I picked up an adorable cotton double gauze to make some reusable birthday gift wrap bentos for the kids. 

Actually, my favorite fabric for a bento is whatever scraps I have on hand. Size small only requires a 9in x 25in (23cm x 63.5cm) piece of fabric, making it a great stash buster!

The Wholecloth Bento Bag PDF sewing pattern includes:

-4 bento bag sizes S, M, L, XL complete with notches and seam allowance

- clear step by step illustrated instructions

- PDF pattern to print and assemble at home using your home printer and 8 1/2" x 11" paper 

- pattern dimensions to draft your own pattern pieces rather than print and assemble the PDF

Get yours now!

Wholecloth Project Bag Sewing Pattern

This morning SweetKM newsletter subscribers got a sweet discount code in their inbox for the Wholecloth Bento Bag. It's not to late for a launch day discount. Sign up for the newsletter and get a 20% discount code for the Wholecloth Bento Bag good until Monday November 13th!

I would love to see what you make! Share your your projects on instagram using #wholeclothprojectbag & #wholeclothpatterns. Tag me @_wholecloth!

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